The Asian Studies Program hosted the honorable Jalil Abbas Jilani, 22nd Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, as part of the Lunch with an Ambassador Series. Ambassador Jilani discussed current events in Pakistan, as well as the future of US-Pakistan relations.

The SFS Asian Studies Program hosted Jason Q. Ng, author of Blocked on Weibo: What Gets Suppressed on China’s Version of Twitter (And Why), for a lunchtime discussion on China's internet regulation policies, and their implications for the country's internet users.

Jason Q. Ng is a research fellow at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab and a research consultant for China Digital Times. He was a 2013 Google Policy Fellow. His writing and work have been featured in Le Monde, TheAtlantic.com, Foreign Affairs, and Tea Leaf Nation.

Professor Matthew Rudolph discusses the controversy surrounding the Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General of the Indian consulate in New York City, who was arrested late last month. Khobragade's arrest gained considerable media attention in India, sparking anger amongst the Indian people and escalating into strained ties between the two countries.

Authors, Damien Ma and Bill Adams, will discuss their new book over lunch. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. Both authors will also be available to sign any purchased books after the event.

Nearly everything you know about China is wrong! Yes, within a decade, China will have the world’s largest economy. But that is the least important thing to know about China. In this enlightening book, two of the world’s leading China experts turn the conventional wisdom on its head, showing why China’s economic growth will constrain rather than empower it. Pioneering political analyst Damien Ma and global economist Bill Adams reveal why, having 35 years of ferocious economic growth, China’s future will be shaped by the same fundamental reality that has shaped it for millennia: scarcity. Ma and Adams drill deep into Chinese society, illuminating all the scarcities that will limit its power and progress. Beyond scarcities of natural resources and public goods, they illuminate China’s persistent poverties of individual freedoms, cultural appeal, and ideological legitimacy — and the corrosive loss of values and beliefs amongst a growing middle class shackled by a parochial and inflexible political system. Everyone knows “the 21st century is China’s to lose” — but, as with so many things that “everyone knows,” that’s just wrong. Ma and Adams get beyond cheerleading and fearmongering to tell the complex truth about China today. This is a truth you need to hear — whether you’re an investor, business decision-maker, policymaker, or citizen.